WordPress is a great, free, intuitive blog software that can used be used by almost anyone on the planet with little prompting and training. There are a billion and one plugins – both premium and free – that will allow you to accomplish almost any functionality you can imagine. There are beautiful, custom themes by the truckloads.

In other words, WordPress has made it easy for anyone, anywhere to try their hand at making an income online, and cash in on those zillions of dollars in online riches we all keep hearing about.

But here’s the thing…

Having a web site and having a web business – and by that I mean a web presence that generates revenue – are two entirely different things. Thanks to all the really cool available template builders out there, anybody can build a web site these days – even your 7 year old. That part of it is not difficult. But making money online?

That’s an entirely different kettle of fish!

WordPress is a platform. That’s it. It’s a tool you use to build your web site – just like any number of tools like HTML editors (DreamWeaver) or other blogging platforms like Drupal and Joomla.

And since having a web site DOES NOT equate to having a web business, WordPress users are left to their own devices when it comes to actually making their sites generate some revenue.

To demonstrate my point…

After the excitement of having your own WordPress web site up and running wore off, what did you do?

That’s right… you registered at the Warrior forum and a couple of other popular IM haunts online.

And you bought zoodles of products promoted there, and on ZVJoo and ClickBank.

Because they all tap into the misconception that making money online is easy.

Plug-and-play. Set it and forget it.

But it isn’t.

Building a successful online business is requires hard work, planning, and consistency.

And most importantly, a roadmap.

Think about it for a minute… if you discovered a secret Google loophole that filled your pockets with more cash than you could carry, what would you do? If you’re like me, you wouldn’t breathe a word of it to anyone. Because nothing shuts down a loophole quicker than making it common knowledge.

But who cares, right?

After all, WordPress is free. Hosting is cheap. So it’s not really costing you anything.

Wrong.

Your time is not free. Your efforts are not free. Neither is the money you spend on the these various “opportunities”, too!

Let me cut to the chase…

Having a web site means you have your own little respository of words and images on the Internet.

And that’s ALL it means.

If you’re really serious about earning an income from the Internet, you have to roll up sleeves, stop dreaming of “getting rich quick”, and get down to work.

The problem for many people is that even when they’ve “wised up” to the instant riches scam, it’s tough to know which opportunities are genuine and which ones are not. Many are stricken by paralysis by analysis – they spend so much time analyzing the various opportunities, they never move forward on anything.

So where do you find that genuine, proven plan and roadmap necessary for success?

Well, it is this very roadmap that has made SiteSell’s “all-in-one” business building system (called Site Build It! or “SBI!”) so successful over the years. It’s behind 1,000’s of successful online businesses and, in the ultimate demonstration of its credibility, is used by universities like…

Penn State, the Citadel, Dawson College, Gardiner Web University, Santa Fe Community College, Humber College, the University of Arizona (and many others) to teach undergraduates, MBAs and Continuing Education students how to use the Web to build a successful online business.

No other online business building system can make the same claim.

Still, Site Build It! has faced some real challenges, especially from WordPress. As we discussed, WP is free (SBI! costs $29.99/month or $300 on an annual billing plan), widely used, very flexible design-wise, easy to understand, and most critically, the default platform for a million and one really cool tools and applications.

And while Site Build It!’s suite of business building tools and instruction are in a league of their own, the design templates were pretty dated looking – up until recently, anyway.

SBI! has addressed these complaints with the new BlockBuilder 2: an extremely flexible template design system that allows you to drag and drop your way to modern, professional web design. I beta tested the new BlockBuilder and was blown away by its ease of use, intuitiveness and functionality! Very cool!

Unfortunately, this meant many people made the mistake to choose to use WordPress to launch their online businesses. Because, you know, the cooler your web site looks, the more business you can expect to do.

Of course, that’s not true at all.

So over time, this inevitably led to folks wishing they could have Site Build It!’s legendary business building system AND WordPress.

Have their cake and eat it to, so to speak.

Well, quicker than Captain Jean Luc Picard can say “make it so”, the intrepid technical team over at SiteSell made it so.

And today, I’m happy to announce that with the launch of the BizXpress plugin, the much anticipated marriage of SBI! and WP has become a reality!

Introducing The BizXpress Plugin

SiteSell’s new plugin for WordPress, BizXpress, brings the crucial plan and roadmap that we discussed earlier, into the hands of the folks that need it most. Yes, the same process that is taught in the various schools and universities across North America is now available in a WordPress version! How cool is that!

Plugins in WordPress often offer some sort of programming related functionality. As we’ll discover in this BizXpress review, the core Site Build It! functionalities, which include…

The various “Action Guides” (which you can choose to read, watch or even listen to!)

The Research tools (i.e., the “Brainstormer” the MKL (“Master Keyword List) and “Search it!”).

Business Information HQs

Links to resources for guidance, like the vibrant forum.

… are simply “plugged into” WordPress, like so (click image for larger version)…

The tools and resources themselves exist outside of WordPress, behind a password protected gateway that you can gain access to once you purchase the product. There’s minimal inconvenience clicking an additional time or two to access what you need. For example, if I click on the Action Guide link in the dashboard (shown above), the Action Guide itself opens in WP…

And if I click to read or watch any one of the 10-day action steps, a pop-up window displays, and I am prompted to login to access…

And then my information is presented. Whoo-dee-doo. Hardly an bother. Plus, once you are logged into the interface, all the tools and information can be accessed from there, without needing to return to your WordPress dashboard.

BizXpress Review: What You Get

I mentioned this briefly earlier, but now I’d like to go into a little more detail about what the BizXpress plugin includes…

1) The Action Guide: Available in PDF, video, and audio formats, the Action Guide is “THE” process. It’s the A-B-C, “how-do-I-get-there-from-here” business building process that has allowed so many SBI! owners to break free of the daily grind, and start living the lives they want.

Tired of the rat race and trading hours for dollars? Of failing online? The key to doing so lies herein.

And while the Action Guide is broken down into a 10-day process, each “day” is relative. In other words, it may take you 3 days to complete Day 1, 5 days to complete Day 2, and so on. The “day” is just a guide. You don’t have to complete everything outlined in each day’s tasks in a 24 hour period. Anyhow, however you want to slice it, this is the foundation of any solid web business.

2)The Research tools (i.e., “Brainstorm It!” the MKL (“Master Keyword List) and “Search it!”): These are the tools you will use to build the keyword foundation upon which your new business rests. Without such a foundation, your web site won’t draw organic traffic from the search engines. Additionally, the keyword research process is critical to determining whether there is enough demand for whatever it is you want to offer to your audience. In other words, keyword data also indicates the level of interest in your product, topic, or niche.

If there’s no demand, it’s going to be tough to make a “go of it.”

Of these 3, the Brainstorm It! keyword research tool is my favorite and offers huge value to the suite of tools present in BizXpress. I’ve owned dozens of keyword research tools over the years and this is by far my favorite.

Why?

Most keyword tools simply pull the same old tired data from Google’s Adwords keywords tool, and then slice and dice it and deliver it up a slightly different way. The BrainStorm It! tool delivers proprietary results based on a blend of SiteSell’s own data, data from Word Tracker, and one other source. I haven’t had an SBI! account for a while, so once in a while I’ll sneak into my girlfriend’s account (Shhhhh!) and do some keyword research with BrainStorm it!. Now, with access to BrainStorm It! right here in WordPress, I won’t have to do that any more!

Because the BrainStorm It! tool uses WordTracker data to some extent, your account comes with 25 WordTracker credits, good for 25 complete runs of the Brainstorm It! tool. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’ve personally have never used 25 credits in any 1 year period. Unless you’re performing a ton of searches – which will be unlikely, unless you have no idea what niche you intend to target – this will be more than plenty. On the off-chance it is not, more credits can be purchased for a nominal fee.

If there’s any criticism to be made for this tool it’s that it could be a little easier for newbie marketers to determine which keywords offer the best value for targeting. However, it’s a small compliant, and there’s plenty of help to guide you on your way.

3) Business Information HQs: Includes Tips and Techniques HQ, Monetization HQ, Resources HQ and Books. SiteSell has always been known for delivering tons of quality content to address a near-infinite number of questions. You can find content for almost anything here. Great resource.

4) Guidance: Links to support, professional coaching and services, as well as the forum, which is as big, vibrant, and well moderated as any on the web. If you love community, especially friendly, helpful, giving communities, you’re going to love the SiteSell forums.

This is a closed forum. You need to be a customer to have access to them – that’s the only way!

So now that you know what’s involved, what’s the verdict?

Well, if you’ve always been interested in getting your hands on the core teaching offered by Site Build It!, as well as some of its very cool proprietary tools, but haven’t wanted to give up WordPress, now you have an option.

Of course, BizXpress does not offer a monthly payment option, and at $149 annually, some of you may have to think quite hard about a purchase. All I can tell you is that what you are gaining access to for slightly more than $12/ month has the pontential to change your life – and that’s not just hyperbole; I’m serious!

I would also challenge you to consider what it’s going to cost you to continue on down the path you’re currently on. What’s your time worth? And trust me, it’s not “nothing”. Aren’t you tired of all those of late nights spent working that never pay dividends? Of spending less time with your kids than you’d like? Of worrying about money?

If so, you really need to give this some serious thought.

The value – especially when you consider access to the BrainStorm It! – is great. It’s even greater if it gets you off the “instant riches” products path so frequently advertised on ZVZoo, ClickBank and the Warrior Forum.

However, if you’re already successful online, and know how to make money and generate revenue from the Internet, you probably don’t need this, although I’m sure you’d get $150 of value from BrainStom It!, as I do.

Full disclosure: I worked for SiteSell from 1999-2006, and a good part of that as Site Build It! product manager. I’ve always been up front about who I feel derives the best value from this tool, and who does not. If you read some of the other reviews on this site, you will see that I never “candy coat” anything. I always tell it exactly like it is. And I certainly wouldn’t fabricate a review for the sake of earning a commission. My reputation is too important to me. BizXpress provides a great roadmap and the tools necessary for building a business. If you’re already successful, you won’t need it. If you’re not willing to work hard, don’t bother. But if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, and get to work building a real, viable business, you need to give this a serious look.